Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ryan Gresh, founder, and CEO of The Feel Good Lab, located in Farmington, CT, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

At The Feel Good Lab, we believe that treating pain shouldn't have to compromise our overall health with powerful pharmaceuticals and potential side effects. After treating chronic pain for over a decade at our family pharmacy and functional medicine practice, we know that the only way to make a dent in this epidemic truly is by addressing the underlying root causes of pain and not just masking symptoms. Plant-based ingredients that are both safe and effective. We call it Fighting Pain With Wellness™.

Tell us about yourself

I spent the first decade of my career as an engineer in the aerospace industry, but after my dad shared an incredible success story that he had achieved at our family pharmacy - I knew that we needed to bring his innovations from our small Connecticut community to the rest of the world. He told the story of a patient in chronic pain who had spent thousands on potent pain medication for many years, and nothing seemed to work. That was until we gave her a prototype of what turned out to be our Natural Pain Cream - 30 incredible ingredients formulated to support a healthy inflammatory response, improve blood flow and address the underlying root causes of pain. When my dad told the story of her calling the pharmacy in tears when she learned that it would be weeks before we had another batch, I knew that even though this was anecdotal and only happened to 1 person, if we have the ability to make this sort of impact on one single person's life, then we had to do whatever it takes to bring this to the world. That is how The Feel Good Lab was born.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Staying in business - through all the ups and downs, there have been many moments when it seemed like the company wouldn't live to see another day. I credit our amazing team for never losing sight of our mission and our customers, whose support and feedback continue to motivate us. We believe that we are just getting started, but it's important to still celebrate the little things on our journey.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

As Elon Musk says - "starting a business is like eating glass and staring into the abyss." While it's certainly not always negative as an entrepreneur, I interpret his quote that our job as business owners is to be the last line of defense for the hardest and most challenging problems in the business. No one will ever care as much as we do about our own business, and as we grow and scale, so do the issues we face.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Cashflow > Fundraising - I learned this lesson the hard way, but raising money should be a last resort when building a business. Boot-strapping, debt, and sales are often much better funding sources.
  2. Plan for the best. Prepare for the worst - Murphy's law says that everything that can go wrong will go wrong, but that doesn't mean we need to be blindsided by it. For the supply chain, build redundancies and prepare for potential delays. For partners and employees, sign a "pre-nupt," which outlines exactly what happens if things don't work out and don't celebrate until the check hits the account.
  3. Follow your passion - If the problem that you set out to solve is so important that you can see yourself relentlessly working on this for many years without any reward or payment, then you will have the grit to stick with it despite any hardships.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://thefeelgoodlab.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/feelgoodlab/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefeelgoodlab/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefeelgoodlab
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-gresh-1435196a/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.